I am a Tombstone Tourist: someone who loves to wander cemeteries. I find it akin to visiting a museum: an opportunity to enjoy rarely seen sculpture, intricate carvings, and amazing architecture, all in a tranquil outdoor setting. This blog is about cemetery culture, art, history, issues of death, and genealogy - subjects of current relevance. I usually find something that intrigues me and makes me want to dig deeper. Care to join me? Read on...

Friday, June 1, 2012

White Bronze - A Monument of Quality

White Bronze

A White Bronze Stands Out

Cemetery
wanderers throughout the U.S. and Canada can probably remember the first time
they came across a white bronze monument.
The oddness of the marker draws you in, fascinates you, and makes you
want to learn more.

Although
not white, and not made of bronze, these memorials are usually very detailed,
always different, and found in very good to excellent condition.

For a Family Marker

Small White Bronze for Child

White bronze
monuments are easy to spot once you start looking for their telltale
bluish-grey color. They come in
many different sizes from small name ‘stones,’ to ornate 4-sided monuments, to
statues. Even though they are constructed from metal, they are actually hollow!
And interestingly enough, the same company manufactured every one of them.

Another Child Stone

Intricate Details

White
bronze monuments were most popular during the 1880s to 1900, a time when many
people considered granite and marble stones to be too expensive. Zinc, which is the element that makes
up 99% of a white bronze monument, offered a less expensive alternative for a
custom designed and detailed grave ‘stone.’ But there were those who looked down on the white bronze
marker as being a cheap imitation of a solid granite stone. Some cemeteries even banned them,
probably due to the urging of local granite and marble monument companies.

Bridgeport, CT Plant

Monumental Bronze Company

The
technique for constructing these zinc monuments was developed in 1873 by M.A.
Richardson of Chautauqua, New York.
Richardson, along with two business partners tried to get a company off
the ground but failed. In 1879,
the rights were sold and a new company, the Monumental Bronze Company, was
incorporated in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Invoice for Monument

Detroit Plant Mark

The
original casting of the zinc monuments was done at the Bridgeport headquarters,
while subsidiaries - the foundries and assembly plants, were located in Chicago,
Des Moines, Detroit, Philadelphia, New Orleans, and St. Thomas, Canada. Each
plant could place its name on the base of the monument to show where it had
been assembled and shipped from.

Four sided Monument

Simple 2 sided Marker

To
create a white bronze marker required several steps. An artist would begin the process by carving similar designs
used on traditional granite and marble headstones into wax forms. Plaster would be poured into the wax
forms and allowed to set, creating a plaster cast. A second, identical plaster cast would then be made. This
would be the cast that the sand molds were made from and cast in zinc. The zinc castings were then assembled
and fused together with molten zinc.
Once assembled and fused, the monuments were sandblasted to create a
stone-like finish. And the final step, a secret lacquer would be applied to
chemically oxidize the monument, creating the bluish-grey patina – hence the
name white bronze. (Much more romantic sounding than zinc.)

Elaborate Monument with Statue

Marker with Name and Days

Monuments
ranged in size from a few inches for name ‘stones’ to over 25 feet high with
statues.

Fraternal Symbols Available

White Bronze Monument Catalog

Every
white bronze marker was made to order. With over 500 monuments to choose from
the possibilities were infinite. To begin, a base and monument shape would be
chosen. Then selected panels would
be placed onto the monument with special screws. These panels included images
of flowers, fraternal symbols, religious designs, and other Victorian motifs.

Catalog Drawing

Custom Epitaph

Panels with the person’s name could be created, or relationship panels saying
‘Mother,’ ‘Father,’ ‘Baby,’ were available. Epitaphs or religious verses could also be put on a panel.

Ad for White Bronze Soldiers

Confederate Solider at Bardstown, KY

But
white bronze markers were not just for individual or family graves. Towns in over thirty states across the
U.S. purchased white bronze Union or Confederate soldiers to place in their
veteran’s cemeteries or local parks to honor their war dead.

Monument Creeping

Stress Fractures

Although
white bronze monuments weathered well, they have one flaw known as
‘creep.’ This occurs when the
weight of the top of the monument bears down onto the base and it begins to bow
or bulge – very slowly, over the years.
The only way to rectify this is to place a stainless steel armature
inside the base to help support the upper weight.

Catalog Drawing with Price

Sales Agent's Card

Unlike
traditional gravestones and markers, there were not any stores where you could
go to see or purchase a white bronze monument. These zinc markers were sold only through company catalogs
and in person by sales agents. If you wanted to see a white bronze marker, you
would have to go to the cemetery. The sales agent would provide catalogs for
the buyer to select the type of monument wanted, what designs were wanted on
the panels, and names to be used. Prices ranged from $2 to $5,000.

Monuments without Panels

Custom Name Panel

White
bronze monuments were made for only forty years, from 1874 to 1914. With the
advent of World War One came their demise. Zinc was needed for the war effort and the Monumental Bronze
Company was taken over by the government to manufacture gun mounts and
munitions. Although the company did
continue to exist until 1939, they never produced another monument. Instead, they tried to maintain the
industry by crafting panels for existing monuments.

Monument with Multiple Panels

Six Paneled Monument

The
Monumental Bronze Company always claimed that the white bronze monuments were
superior to granite and marble gravestones. And after 100 years, this claim has proven true. The outstanding quality and
durability of the white bronze monument has indeed survived, and become even
more popular, right into another century.

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